Op-ed: Sunday April 24 the Sunday Times has published its annual rich list but is it worth the paper, or internet, it is written on?

According to media reports Lakshmi Mittal, owner of ArcelorMittal, and the family behind Europe's biggest steelmaker, has lost more than £2bn in the past year. He held the top slot in 2008 with £27.7bn but now only has a fortune of £7.12bn and is number 11 on this year's list.

BBC News also reports "The number of London billionaires fell for the first time since the financial crash - from 80 in 2015 to 77."

So just how many are losing money and how many are stashing it off-shore and away from prying eyes?

The recent panama papers data leaks centred on law firm Mossack Fonseca but with it only being the third largest firm helping the uber wealthy stash the cash it is something of a false flag.

And of course there will be many others.

It is probably fair to assume that those with enough money have been working to ensure their wealth is kept away from any new legislation that may tighten the laws on off-shore tax havens.

As the EU, the British Tory government and others procrastinate it will end up a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Perhaps one reason the number of declared billionaires in the UK is falling has little to do with a drop in wealth?

Some in the rich brigade fear a future Labour government with Jeremy Corbyn as party leader and Prime Minister and contingency plans are bound to already be in place.

If you still believe the Sunday Times Rich List, another Rupert Murdoch publication, is worth a read either as a work of fiction or fact you can check it out here, but you may have to subscribe.

Op-ed: David Cameron has in some ways had a lucky week. The fact that parliament is in recess has in many ways saved his neck.

But ahead of parliament getting back to work Monday he has addressed his core supporters at a spring conference held in London and surprise surprise his speech was televised by Rupert Murdoch's Sky News Saturday.

It was of course a heckle free ticketed event with no questions asked.​

Cameron began his speech by trying to make light of his 'terrible week', one which has shown him to be a first-class liar, and moved on to blow the Tory trumpet and he did it large.

But he did say to blame him for his shortcomings this week and Mr Cameron many people do.

If you are a Tory supporter you may have enjoyed listening to Cameron talk up Conservative politics and flatter his core ministers including Jeremy Hunt; if you are not you may be angry or even falling about with laughter.

We watched as much as of his speech as we could bear.

Beneath the spin, huge glasses of water to keep his bladder full and him on the edge, and carefully crafted speech was there anything new?

No.

Cameron did begin by saying he has learned 'lessons' this week but that could mean anything.

He did claim he would now finally publish his tax returns but presumably that will be just from this new tax year; if not how far back will they go?

But although he tried for a confident front he has had the wind knocked out of his sails. That was plain to see.

The Tory party is split on the EU referendum and in some ways falling apart and that was difficult to hide. It did explain however why he talked up some of his ministers and their policies. The Tory battle lines are drawn.

As Cameron's speech got underway political activists and people simply fed up with this government were gathering in London.

A Facebook page launched to announce a 'gathering at Downing Street' which will last until Cameron resigns quickly garnered support since its launch late this week.

[One London protester Andrew Mullen noted - You guys are doing a good job, but Cameron is at the Connaught Rooms at the moment and will probably hide there all day. The address is 61-65 Great Queen St, London WC2B 5DA]

Protests continue in Iceland; the Prime Minister of Iceland may have resigned but the people want the government that they view as rotten, to fall.

Cameron's record speaks for itself. In 2013 Cameron asked the EU to leave tax havens alone.

In 2009 the Telegraph posted a damning report on David Cameron when he was leader of the shadow cabinet. The story has its dating roots in 2005 / 2006 but does that make it any better? Some Labour MPs were tried and jailed for expense fiddles but David Cameron and other Tories like Maria Miller were allowed a home run:

David Cameron claimed tens of thousands of pounds on expenses for mortgage interest on a cottage in his Oxford constituency, after clearing the loan on his designated main London home.

He also used public funds for a series of repairs to the picturesque cottage including the removal of wisteria from a chimney. For most of the past five years, Mr Cameron has claimed only for mortgage interest and utility bills on his designated second home.

But he deviated from his straightforward claiming habits in November 2006 when he billed the public purse £680 for repairs to the cottage, including clearing wisteria and vines from a chimney, replacing outside lights and resealing his conservatory roof. He repaid the claim last month. Though his claims are among the simplest of any senior political figure, he has faced criticism from Labour politicians for the large amounts of public money claimed for the mortgage on his constituency home.

Some years, Mr Cameron’s expense records run to only 20 pages – compared with claims of more than 90 pages for some colleagues. His simple claims have put him in a strong position to root out corruption among other Tory MPs.

From the London protests Saturday

Next week's long scheduled protest

Cameron's carefully crafted style over substance way of politics even touches his wife Samantha. At times she has appeared at events dressed down, to reinforce that spin of 'all in this together', but we the people have paid £53,000 a year for her to achieve that.

The firm at the heart of the Panama papers data leak is the third largest in the world.

This leak then may have an agenda.

Just who hides what with the help of the other companies may never be known.

Politics is a barrel of laughs for Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne

Op-ed: With the panama data leaks story failing to go away calls for UK PM David Cameron to resign are being heard inside of, and away from, Westminster.

Saturday protesters intend to congregate outside of 10 Downing to hold a 'gathering' until Cameron resigns.

Those that continue to claim Mr Cameron has done nothing wrong fail to recognise why in the eyes of many voters he has.

Rolling out a series of high-profile lawyers and supporters will not convince the people Cameron is not touched by the 'panama papers'.

Those who say the PM has done nothing wrong miss one important point - he has lied to save his political hide.

Over five days David Cameron and his team issued a series of misleading statements, at times lies, in an attempt to cover his tracks.

It flies in the face of transparency.

It again highlights Cameron's hypocrisy.

Remember how Labour supporter and comedian Jimmy Carr was dissed by Cameron when it was revealed he had some money invested off shore? It was 2012 when that story broke. BBC News reported "Comedian Jimmy Carr says he has "made a terrible error of judgement" over using a tax avoidance scheme. In a statement on his Twitter account, Mr Carr said he was no longer involved in the K2 tax shelter."

Well surprise surprise this week Cameron offered an apology to Jimmy Carr once again shifting the goalposts when it suits, or did he?

"David Cameron had previously criticised the comedian Jimmy Carr, describing him as “morally wrong” for seeking to avoid taxes. However, today the PM has made a surprise u-turn describing Carr’s tax affairs as ‘nothing illegal’" reported the London Economic Wednesday but we wonder what took him so long and why now.

That turns out to be a satirical post but he should be apologising to Jimmy Carr and to the nation.

But Cameron has already been shown to be a hypocrite.

It was a very different story in 2014 when he was quick to defend Tory pal and musician Gary Barlow who was shown to be entangled in a similar scheme to Carr.

During the last five days David Cameron's position has shifted considerably and continuously.

First there were claims it was a private family matter followed by Mr Cameron senior's offshore tax haven dealings were nothing to do with the PM. That was quickly superseded with another deliberately misleading statement that David Cameron would not benefit from the tax haven in the future. Finally Thursday evening Cameron personally issued a statement explaining his previous financial gains when he sold his share of Blairmore holdings in 2010.

His casual and dismissive manner in announcing he and wife Samantha made around £30k out of that sale, but it was all above board, will satisfy some but you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

And this time Cameron will not please many.

In 2010 David Cameron became Prime Minister of the UK and ushered in a period of austerity claiming we are 'in this together'.

Those hollow words have a nasty ring to them now.

As he and his ministers decided we the people should pay for the failings of bankers and the banking system in the UK his finances were safely tucked away.

Arguments that these off shore tax havens actually help the people of some old colonial countries are an insult to the intelligence of British voters.

If it is all so above board why did it take a massive data leak to alert people to this very secretive way of stashing money.

Mr Cameron has been shown to be a liar, a fraud and in some ways nothing more than a con man.

He continues to be selective with the truth.

And with his words of 'one nation', 'big society', 'transparency' and 'all in it together', ringing in my ears I wonder if you can really believe a word he says?

Also Friday:Metro - People are calling for David Cameron to resign after stake in offshore trust is revealedDaily Mirror - What is Blairmore Holdings? Everything you need to know about David Cameron's father's offshore trust. David Cameron's father, Ian Cameron, used a faceless metal postbox in the Bahamas to avoid paying UK tax for 30 years.

Op-ed: The biggest data leak in history, dubbed the "panama papers" is set to topple governments; #panamapapers was trending Sunday night as news broke of a year long journalist led investigation into off shore tax havens.

Many mainstream media publications ran with the story's links to Russia with claims that point a finger at Vladimir Putin.

But the allegations of tax avoidance, secret money stashes, money laundering and sanction's avoidance run much deeper.

Footage of the Icelandic PM, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, cutting short an interview as soon as the quesion of the "panama papers" and his involvement was raised appears to show a man with a great deal to hide. He now faces calls for a snap election.

Monday TV, online and hardcopy news sources are running with "panama papers" and there is a wealth of information available.

What you make of it may depend on what you watch and read but this story is set to roll with more revelations to come.

This is a massive data leak from a very secret world of wealth.

The scandal involves many high-profile figures and includes three former UK Conservative MPs, six members of the House of Lords and numerous political party donors. At time of writing they are not named.

A link to UK PM David Cameron, by way of his inhertiance from his father who had his fortune stashed in an off shore tax haven, became public knowledge in 2015 following a C4 investigation.

But with more than 11 million documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca the proverbial has hit the global fan.

"British parliamentarians are among scores of politicians from round the world holding offshore assets, it has been reported following a massive leak of confidential data. The leak of more than 11 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca – being called the Panama Papers – is said to cast an unprecedented light on the way the rich and powerful are able to use tax havens to shield their wealth. The information was passed to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and has been shared with 107 media organisations in 78 countries including the Guardian and BBC’s Panorama."

Support NEWTEK - Like what we do here at NEWTEK? If so, you should consider supporting us…Running a news based website is fun, time consuming and can be costly. If you would like to help the site keep afloat please use the donate button​